Magana v. Hyundai Motor America
| Decision Date | 20 July 2004 |
| Docket Number | No. 29347-1-II.,29347-1-II. |
| Citation | 94 P.3d 987,123 Wn. App. 306,123 Wash. App. 306 |
| Parties | Jesse MAGANA, Respondent/Cross Appellant, v. HYUNDAI MOTOR AMERICA; Hyundai Motor Company, Appellants/Cross Respondents, Ricky Smith and Angela Smith, husband and wife, Appellants. |
| Court | Washington Court of Appeals |
Christine M. Masse, Miller Nash LLP, Michael B. King, King, Lane Powell Spears Lubersky LLP, Seattle, WA, for Appellant/Cross-Respondent.
Jerret E. Sale, Deborah Lynn Carstens, Bullivant Houser Bailey PC, Seattle, WA, for Appellant.
Garth L. Jones, Stritmatter Whelan Withey et al, Hoquiam, WA, Charles Kenneth Wiggins, Kenneth Wendell Masters, Attorneys at Law, Bainbridge Island, WA, Paul W. Whelan, Peter O' Neil, Stritmatter Kessler Whelan Withey et al, Derek Jay Vanderwood, Attorney at Law, Vancouver, WA, for Respondent/Cross-Appellant.
PART PUBLISHED OPINION
Jesse Magana was a passenger in a Hyundai vehicle that left the road and hit several trees; the force propelled him through the car's rear window, causing him to sustain serious injuries. Magana sued the car manufacturer alleging a design defect, and he sued the Hyundai's driver and the driver of an oncoming vehicle, alleging negligence. During trial, the court initially admitted testimony from Magana's expert about the benefits of an integrated seat belt design. Although the court later struck this evidence, it declined to instruct the jury that the testimony had been stricken.
We hold that this ruling was error. Further, because the stricken expert testimony introduced a new theory of liability and could have substantially affected the verdict, it was not harmless. Therefore, we reverse the judgment against the car manufacturer and remand for a new trial.
On February 15, 1997, Ricky Smith was driving a rented 1996 Hyundai Accent two-door hatchback. Angela Smith and Magana were passengers. Upon cresting a hill on a rural road, they suddenly saw an oncoming truck coming toward them; it appeared to be in their lane. Ricky jerked the wheel, causing the car to "yaw" and leave the road. VI Report of Proceedings (RP) at 792.
The Hyundai hit at least two trees and the force caused it to spin violently. The resulting centrifugal force threw Magana out of the car's rear window; he landed 50 to 100 feet away from where the car finally stopped. Magana's resulting injuries left him a paraplegic; Ricky Smith suffered a concussion, and Angela Smith broke her leg, collarbone, and shoulder blade.
On February 8, 2000, Magana filed this lawsuit against Hyundai Motor America and Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai), the Smiths, and the truck driver and his wife (the Nylanders). Magana alleged that the car in which he was riding contained a "defective design [that] was a proximate cause of [his] injuries and damages" and that Ricky Smith's and Nylander's negligent driving proximately caused the car accident. Clerk's Papers (CP) at 4.
During discovery, Magana and Hyundai took the depositions of two experts, Dr. Joseph Burton and Stephen Syson. Burton and Syson discussed the passenger restraint system, which they described as the passenger seat back, airbag, and seat belt hardware. They did not mention an integrated seat belt design.
Hyundai then moved for partial summary judgment regarding the car's airbag. It asked the court to look at the airbag, seat back, and seat belt as separate entities and require Magana to produce some evidence that each was defective. Instead, the trial court accepted Magana's contention that these components were part of a system. Thus, in January 2002, the court denied the motion.
Before trial, Magana moved to strike Hyundai's affirmative defense of contributory fault. Magana argued that this was a "crashworthiness" case in which his alleged contributory fault was irrelevant as a matter of law. CP at 259. The trial court granted Magana's motion.
Magana personally served the Smiths shortly after he filed his complaint in February 2000. When the Smiths had not answered by October 2000, the trial court granted Magana's motion for an order of default against them.
On April 12, 2001, the Smiths filed for bankruptcy. The bankruptcy court dismissed the Smiths' bankruptcy petition for want of prosecution in November 2001.
On December 21, 2001, the trial court entered two orders affecting the Smiths: (1) an order requiring Ricky Smith to appear for a deposition; and (2) a default order on the Nylanders' cross claims against the Smiths. And on January 11, 2002, the trial court granted summary judgment to the Nylanders, dismissing them from Magana's lawsuit.
Finally, on January 28, 2002, the Smiths' counsel filed a notice of appearance and, three months later, the Smiths moved to set aside the default order. The Smiths also moved to vacate the December 2001 orders, contending that the trial court entered them during the bankruptcy's pendency.
Finding that the Smiths had failed to show good cause, the trial court denied the motion to set aside the default as to negligence. But the court allowed the Smiths to litigate proximate cause and damages.
A major factual issue during this three week trial was where Magana had been sitting at the time of the collision. To prove that he had been in the front seat and that the failure of the front seat's seat back allowed his body to fly through the rear window, Magana introduced testimony from neighbors of the accident site; from an emergency medial technician (EMT), who stated that Angela Smith had been in the back seat; and from other witnesses who testified that Angela Smith's injuries were caused by the front seat collapsing backward on her.
Hyundai attempted to prove that Magana had been sitting in the back seat and that Angela Smith had been seated in the front. Its witnesses testified that Angela Smith's injuries were the result of sitting in the front seat.
Ricky Smith, who was unable to discuss details of the accident on the day of the accident because of his concussion, told police the next day that Angela had been sitting in the front. Angela Smith did not speak with police at the time of the accident; but four years later she stated in her deposition that she had been sitting in the front.
Magana's experts testified that the Hyundai seat back was defective because it lacked adequate strength and had too much yield upon sudden impact. But Hyundai's expert testified that a more rigid seat back could cause more injury in a high impact accident.
Near the beginning of trial, Magana called Dr. Joseph Burton, a forensic pathologist with experience in applying such knowledge to automobile accidents.2 Much of Burton's testimony concerned how Magana and the Smiths were injured in the accident, such as the relationship between the Hyundai's seat restraint system and the injuries.
But Hyundai objected when Magana's counsel asked a question about an alternative theory of liability, the lack of an integrated seat belt design.3 The testimony was as follows:
VII-A RP at 977-78.4
Four days later, the trial court reconsidered its decision and ruled that it should have sustained Hyundai's objection to Burton's testimony about "an alternative seat design" of an integrated seat belt. XI RP at 1666. Following discussion, the court and Hyundai's counsel agreed that the best time to instruct the jury to disregard that testimony would be during the testimony of Michael James, Hyundai's design expert.
James testified close to the end of trial. Hyundai asked him no questions about integrated seat belts but on cross examination, Magana asked about this alternative to seat belts fixed to a car's interior post. James replied "it's not that common, but there are — there are more vehicles that have them now than had them ten years ago." XII-B RP at 1926. Neither party asked James about the benefits or risks of integrated seat belts. And neither Hyundai nor the court mentioned the stricken Burton testimony.
After the parties rested and were discussing jury instructions with the court, Hyundai asked the court to instruct the jury to not consider Burton's stricken testimony. Magana objected, arguing that Hyundai should have made this request during James's testimony. The court stated, "I had not thought of that at the right time myself, either." XV RP at 2276. And later, the court stated: XV RP at 2277. In an apparent compromise effort, the court reaffirmed its ruling striking Burton's challenged testimony but declined to advise the jury of its action because of concerns that an instruction at this juncture would highlight the evidence. But the court advised Magana's counsel not to refer to the testimony during closing argument, and it explained that the testimony would not be part of the record when considering any sufficiency of the evidence challenge.
By a ten to two vote, the jury returned a verdict in...
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